lundi 28 octobre 2013

In China, e-commerce is a bloodsport!

Strange story about ecommerce in China !

A hot mess . This is what you will see on the first page of the very first e -commerce site in China.
There is a bewildering series of banners , rows of links , icons touting promotions and discounts. It is a shock user interface that seems to bring out the worst in web design .
And it was designed that way.
"They want this atmosphere of shopping ," says Yu Gang, president and founder of Yihaodian , a leading online retailer in China.
Why Chinese online sites look "chaotic"
What you should know about business in China
China a difficult market for online businesses
"Our consumers as a page that is very crowded , busy with lots of links so that they can open many windows at the same time . "

CEO of e -commerce giant Alibaba

China technology investor and former CEO of e -commerce giant Alibaba , could not agree more : "When I worked for Alibaba, I cleaned the homepage on an international level , it only works not . ".
Before the next IPO Alibaba, I had the full download from insiders e -commerce in China for CNN " on China. "
They tell me that in , crazy crazy world of mainland e -commerce, rules of the road in the West do not apply simply .
Superlative statistics are well known : China has the largest Internet population in the world with over 591 million users . China is the second largest market for online retail world , pointing to $ 210 billion in sales in 2012. Taobao, the e -commerce engine to Alibaba consumer benefits more important than eBay sales and Amazon combined .
The magnitude of the e -commerce market in China is attractive . But it is also difficult to crack due in part to the lack of service delivery across the country question.
"The logistics industry in China is highly fragmented , with people such as UPS and FedEx in China is still unable to provide national coverage and quality service ," said Yu out .

So many Chinese e-commerce companies ...

So many Chinese e-commerce companies , including Yihaodian provide their own last mile delivery to reach customers with a network of mopeds and motorcycles.
Another point of distinction is the highly social nature of their clientele.

-" Social media is a big in China ," said Oliver Rust, senior vice president at Nielsen .

-"Fifty percent of consumers in China are leveraging social media to learn about new products . "

-"Retailers need to engage in the social conversation and interact with tech-savvy consumers in China are becoming more open to increase e -commerce spending. "

And it is not just open a Weibo account registered . Online chat between customers and merchants is standard instant messaging integrated in almost every platform e -commerce .
But do not let all the talk of the sympathetic fool you shop . The company is brutal.
When David Wei was the head of Alibaba , he led the offensive to weaken and defeat eBay in China.
"When Taobao fought against eBay , we identified ten things eBay made ​​in China - and we did it 100% differently ," he said.

Ebay ?

So while eBay charged for his tuition, Taobao offered no tuition fees at all .
While eBay has used an auction model to classify lists , Taobao has used a model of retail classify fresh atop lists.
And while eBay limited between merchants and customers communication , Taobao has created an instant messaging tool to encourage communication between buyers and sellers.
Ebay finally closed its main site in China.
" The first ten things, the most important thing was eBay , winning their elements, their winning recipe in the United States , in fact become the poison killing their business in China ," said Wei .
So if you 're a brand manager , investor or entrepreneur naked eye the market, observe with an open mind and proceed with caution .
In China , e-commerce is very competitive .

dimanche 20 octobre 2013

E-commerce in China and taobao

Online sales in China generated $ 190 billion in 2012. The industry of online sales increased by 120% between 2003 and 2012, that is to say, from the year of creation of the most trusted online sales not only in China but also in the world Taobao ("find treasure" in Chinese).

Taobao is owned by Alibaba Group, the undisputed giant of the Chinese e-commerce. The main objective is to promote Taobao system complete e-commerce to ensure a good experience for its users.
And to do that, Taobao meets the expectations and needs of Chinese consumers, unlike the giant eBay. The implementation of that strategy was to transpose the American system for the Chinese market, which cost him a dismal failure.
Expectations of Chinese consumers of e-commerce are very different from those of Westerners.

For the Chinese, for example, trust between buyer and seller is very important. That is why they can communicate via "Aliwangwang" chat Alibaba, Taobao and offers mostly fixed price (which can be traded via chat) and only a few auctions (unlike eBay). The auctions are an individualistic way to buy or sell, making it an inappropriate method in Chinese culture, collectivist basis.

Chinese online consumers !

In addition, customers have the option to pay on delivery, cash and after checking the quality of the goods, as they would have done in a traditional shop in China. This payment method is also suitable for Chinese culture, in which the payment by cash is the norm. For example, the Chinese population of Paris is the target of many flights snatching. It is indeed a cultural trait for the Chinese to carry a lot of cash on them.
The design of the interface'' Taobao is also suitable for Chinese consumers. Site colors are red and orange, colors that symbolize the festivities and prosperity in Chinese culture. This is a very positive message to consumers, and is important to consider in a marketing strategy in China.

In general, the symbolism is very important in the behavior of Chinese consumers, unlike the Western consumer, explain the founder of this Agency !

Finally, Taobao offers free registration and a very good customer service, operational 24 hours 24.
Its perfect adaptation to the Chinese market explains its huge success.
Today, Taobao is:
80% of C2C market online
500 million users
60 million regular visitors per day
800 million products
Almost $ 100 billion in sales
One of the 20 most visited sites in the world. The eleventh in April 2013, according to the ranking site Alexa Internet traffic.

Taobao !

Consumes on Taobao?
taobao's customers
The most important category of Taobao users is that of 25-35 years. They look more and more to buy high-tech products and spend a lot of time comparing prices on the internet.
Taobao: an opportunity.
Taobao is a very effective tool for small and medium-sized companies that want to enter the Chinese market
The investment is minimal: a company can create its online presence for free
Since it is the largest site for online sales in China, Taobao allows great visibility in the Chinese market for sale online
According to a study by the Institute Mckingsey, online sales will continue to grow in importance in China should represent $ 650 billion in 2020
Taobao can buy in small towns (a few million), which have neither good distribution networks, or a variety of products.

II. Tmall a question of confidence

Tmall is an extension of Taobao. This site specializes in B2C online trade, and is also visible through the site Taobao.
Unlike Taobao has a reputation for everything that people want at the most attractive prices, Tmall offers branded products. The price is not the marketing argument Tmall. Rather consumer confidence in the products offered on the website and brand protection against counterfeiting.
Some consumers are not buying counterfeit items and are therefore trusted online stores on the site. So Tmall allows brands to control their image and reputation.

The opportunity on Tmall
Open a shop on Tmall is very interesting for several reasons:
Tmall represents 50% of B2C online today, then it was created in 2008
B2C e-commerce has increased by 130% between 2010 and 2012
Customers are protected from counterfeiting
Buyers will more easily on Tmall shops because they are confident
Chinese ecommerce shop 1
Chinese ecommerce shop 2
But opening a shop on Tmall remains a somewhat complicated investment for foreign companies. That is why opening a shop on this site is recommended for companies wishing to settle in the Chinese market over the long term.
In order to open an online store on Tmall must:

Solution !

Having its registered company in China
Having its registered brand in China
Pass an online exam organized by Tmall to check if the site rules are well understood
Submit official documents
Pay 160,000 RMB (about 3,000 USD) as security deposit.
Both sites online sales are intended for different budgets for companies that use their brand as a marketing argument and those that offer attractive prices for their products. Online sales in China is a growing market and a very interesting opportunity, it would be a shame not to take...

lundi 7 octobre 2013

How to success in the Chinese Ecommerce world?

Nearly 600 million Internet users in China and begin to aggressively shop online. The challenge for outlets online business is to define exactly who their customers are and how they make their buying decisions. In other words , what influences to spend money online?
What we do know is that men shop differently than women, even when it comes to online shopping. For example, we know that men tend to be more , let's call it , goal oriented when they shop online . But they also tend to buy things specifically for themselves. That said , both sexes are looking for two key elements: the lower prices and greater convenience .

Chinese Consumers

2012 annual report from Nielsen on online purchasing behavior of Chinese consumers has shown that for a couple of key categories covered by the survey , men were more active than women in online shopping. Eighty percent of male respondents ( against 59 % of women ) put online for consumer electronics purchases , while 71 % of male respondents ( against 66 % of women ) put online to buy services .

With more people shopping on the internet , we also see the online shoppers are becoming more impatient as they shop . If they can not easily find what they want , they move quickly . They want to shop on their terms and timelines.

Key of Success ?

So how can we ensure online shopping is rooted in the experience of the Internet at large for online consumers in China?

According to the survey , 66% of consumers were connected to both users microblog and social networking site . The implication for brands is to use their microblog presence as centers for the dissemination of information to combine and meet all other digital platforms as a business site , a mini - site, the page brand social networking campaigns and viral video content.

With the penetration of smartphones , e-commerce is changing a little further to m- commerce. We can see that consumers are not even wait to get home to turn on their computer and start spending . Consumers want to browse and buy when they want it - on the subway , waiting for friends or even during meal times . Engage with mobile users is essential in this regard and most other markets.

Unlike Amazon 's dominance in the U.S. 's , there are many large e -commerce in China fierce competition level players , so it might take longer for a standout leader to emerge . For now, the players existing ecommerce face costly challenges around logistics and price. Some are also struggling with the alignment of the purchase online and offline experience. Shops and / pickup flexible delivery are very popular, especially when combined with smart promotions through online platforms and offline.
Satisfied customers with successful online purchases are likely to drive more sales as consumers share their positive experiences via social media.

A Nielsen survey found 85% of Chinese consumers regularly used social media to share their experiences with online shopping .

As retailers seek to align and grow their business online and offline, the challenge is to develop effective marketing strategies for the sophisticated Chinese consumer:

1 . Gaining confidence -

Create an environment of trust with your customers and make them feel valued. Each brand must take some time to understand the specific online networks that engage their customers and become a part of it . Relying on trusted experts or appropriate celebrities in China has also managed to build trust .
The bottom line is that emotion is key. In a world where the consumer sees hundreds of advertisements in a single day space , which triggers an emotional response is proven to give your product or brand the attention and recognition it needs to stand out. From there , you build the dependence of the brand , success here will take care of itself as consumers will recommend the product to others.

2 . Get Connected -

Chinese online shoppers are mainly young consumers seeking value and convenience educated . Offering assortment of unique products online and giving consumers more convenient options for payment and delivery are also likely to resonate with these buyers.

3 . Communications -

Again , social media is a powerful communication platform that is watched several times a day. E -commerce and online shopping store overthrow the consumer conversation in the traditional sense. Consumers are now looking websites retailers specific products and learning of goods via social media. Retailers must engage in this social conversation and interact with tech-savvy consumers in China are becoming more open to increase e -commerce spending. It is also suggested that a campaign offline / online integrated doubles the recall of your brand.

samedi 5 octobre 2013

Ecommerce for the start-up fashion in China

The year 2013 will be remembered as one in which China has surpassed the United States as the largest market for digital retail world, writes the author of a report published by Bain & Company,

564 million Internet users in the country and 242 million e- customers.

" Retail online already totaled 6 percent of all purchases ,"

Meanwhile, in the clothing sector , e -commerce sales represent an even larger share of the overall cake .

Approximately 13 percent, according to iResearch estimates .

But for most Chinese e-commerce is dominated by a few domestic giants, including Taobao, VANCL , M18 and Jingdong . In fact, the top five players control 65 percent of the online retail market in China, according Workshop Paribas.

In fact , Taobao alone - which consists of Taobao market, a consumer survey which is China's response to Ebay and Tmall , a site selling business-to -consumer on which brands can open and manage their own e-commerce stores - more than 50 percent of all retail spending online .

Faced with this reality , are trademarks of medium-sized retailers and sentenced to nibble at the edges of the growth of the party e-commerce in China?

Indeed, many Chinese fashion and clothing brands have their options of e -commerce as a binary : launch with one of the key players, or wait . Some have decided to wait for a more favorable market environment , but the vast majority of fashion retailers have lined up with the giants of Chinese e- c0mmerce - positive results .

Being on the big sites like Tmall , which hosts more than 50,000 branded stores, allows retailers to tap into the eastern several million daily visitors site. " On 11 November 2012 a special shopping day like Cyber ​​Monday in the United States ,
Tmall had over 250 million visitors, almost the entire population of online shopping in China ," said Florence Shih , responsible international public relations Taobao Group .

At the end of the day , sales sales through Taobao and Tmall market had exceeded $ 3 billion .

By comparison , sales of the entire United States on Cyber ​​Monday in 2012 were less than $ 2 billion . In addition, the launch platform scale as Taobao, with their millions of users, is certainly a good way for brands and retailers to increase knowledge of consumer behavior online .

In fact, it turns out that instead of stopping the growth of e-commerce in China Goliaths offer many opportunities for highly profitable business online fashion medium to flee on their platforms forms , as evidenced by the success of companies like Justyle and Angel Citiz .

Justyle (简 时尚 品)

www.justyle.org/‎
Founded in 2007 by Xu Qun with English partner Dr. Martin Shoben Research Center of London fashion , Justyle designs and sells clothing menswear for the mass market of China. With charm and vision, Mr. Xu , who goes by the nickname " Runzhi " ( borrowed form Chairman Mao himself) , has raised $ 15 million in investments Zhixin Capital, Balderton Capital and DFJ .

The company has no physical or traditional e -commerce stores. Instead , every day on his Tmall shop Justyle grows a wide range of fashion basics such as jackets . Prices are low - about 100 RMB ($ 16) for a T- shirt or RMB 300 for a jacket - but the volumes are high, up to 50,000 units a bestseller . With about 300,000 frequent buyers Justyle had sales of $ 80 million in 2012 and an annual growth rate of 400 percent.
But this has not been easy for Justyle . When BoF met Mr. Xu Jiaxing , last winter , optimizing its supply chain is a major concern . Indeed, Justyle struggled to plan purchases of fabric and thread correctly to match the extent of consumer demand .

Citiz Angel (天使 之 城)

shop217225.taobao.com/In 2004 , the founder Li Jing , also known as Miss "A" left a job in an insurance company to launch a fashion boutique on Ebay , which quickly gained popularity. To avoid increasing costs Ebay , Jing moved the store to Taobao market and today 's women's fashion brand online Angel Citiz is one of the best interpreters of Taobao , and in 2010 and 2011 , was voted a favorite customers.

From 2006 to 2009 , sales of Angel Citiz increased steadily at a rate of 300 percent per year. The success came from the selection of boutique products - from Japan , Korea and Europe - which were otherwise difficult to find in China. Miss "A" also modeled all products Angel Citiz itself, which was not only profitable, but makes for a funky shopping experience and distinctive.

In 2012, Angel Citiz income reached $ 38 million , and in the search for greater growth , Miss "A" sold 80 percent of shares in the company for $ 16 million to Liebo , another another fashion industry successful online which began modestly on Taobao Marketplace. The company started with an initial investment of RMB 1000 ($ 163), has since gone on to raise venture capital funds Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital , and now leads annual sales of 500 million RMB